Fezzes and Flowers
by Deniecey
Summary: It's Valentines Day and The Doctor Takes Clara to Paris.Whoffle


Clara could have sworn she had heard the TARDIS as she sat up in her bed._ Was the Doctor here? But he usually doesn't come this early. _Glancing around her room she realized that she had just wistfully imagined it_. Probably because I haven't seen him in awhile._

It was true that Clara hadn't seen the Doctor in a few weeks, but when she had told him she wanted to take a break from traveling, she hadn't realized that would keep him away. The only reason Clara wanted to take a break from traveling was because she needed time to recover after being in his Timestream. She had lived hundreds of lives most of them ending in painful deaths, and being torn into hundreds of echoes of herself had utterly exhausted her. But the worst part was the memories. She could remember the pain and fear of dying, and of losing the people she had cared for and loved who were dead. The last few weeks had not been easy for Clara. There were times when she wasn't quite sure where she was and sometimes at night, when she was sleeping, she had nightmares. But for the last week she had felt a lot better and she was beginning to miss The Doctor.

Her gaze landed on her cluttered nightstand and a few objects that hadn't been there when she had gone to bed. An overstuffed vase full of mismatched flowers, a plate with a single jammy dodger on it, and an envelope with her name written on the front. Clara tilted her head in confusion as she picked up the envelope. As soon as she opened the envelope she realized who the letter was from, there was only one person she knew whose writing looked like childish scrawls. The letter was from The Doctor. So she hadn't imagined hearing the TARDIS! The Doctor **had** been here! Taking a deep breath Clara smiled as she began to read the letter.

_Hello Clara Oswin Oswald!_

_I stopped by this morning only to realize I had come by too early. I didn't want to wake you, but as I was leaving I noticed that today was Saint __Valentines Day. I didn't know what your favorite flower was so I just got all of them! I guess I'll stop by later and we can go on a trip, if you're feeling better? Happy Valentines Day! Oh, and I ate the rest of the jammy dodgers. Sorry.  
_

_The Doctor (I hope by now you already knew the letter is from me.)_

_Same old Doctor_ Clara thought. Well that explained the overstuffed vase, and the single jammy dodger. Clara practically flew out of her bed and began getting dressed, excited that after nearly a month away from The Doctor, she was going to see him. Today! On Valentines Day!

_ Oh my stars! It's Valentines Day! Should I give him a present?_ Clara was panicking slightly-she didn't have a present to give him._ Come on Clara think. What would he like? Well if he hadn't eaten all the jammy dodgers I could have given those to him. _It was just then that she realized how silly she had been, panicking about what to give him. There was something in this very house that he would absolutely love. But, could she find it in time?

Running down the stairs and into the kitchen where Angie and Artie were eating breakfast, Clara stopped running to catch her breath.

"Artie," she gasped,"Do you know where the costume trunk you and Angie would play dress up with when you were little is?"

"Maybe it's in the attic. I don't know." Artie replied

"Why are you looking for it?'' Angie asked, but Clara who was rushing back up the stairs to the attic, didn't hear her.

The attic was dark, dusty and cluttered with old toys, outgrown clothes and broken unused objects, which was why hardly anyone ever went in there. The Maitlands and Clara usually only went in there to store something no one was using any more. As soon as Clara opened the door, she realized she had a daunting task ahead of her if she was going to find the trunk. Pushing and moving objects out of her way, Clara noticed the clean dress she had been wearing, was now covered in dust. _Ugh, after I find this I am definitely going to have to take a shower and change._ Turning around a stack of grime covered books, Clara was rewarded with the sight of the trunk. Clara rummaged through the old dresses and funny looking hats. "Aha!" she exclaimed as she withdrew her prize, a dark red fez, it was a bit dusty and slightly out of shape, but Clara knew The Doctor wouldn't care. He would be to excited at receiving the fez.

Half an hour later Clara had showered, dressed, and cleaned the fez, but The Doctor still hadn't come by. She wandered around the empty house trying to figure out what to occupy her time with. She walked into the kitchen and sat at the table pondering on what she could do._ I could try making a souffle again. Sure, why not? It can't be any worse than last time._ Clara gathered the ingredients and began measuring and mixing. She slipped the pan into the oven and started cleaning the kitchen. It wasn't long before the timer beeped. Opening the oven, Clara withdrew the golden brown souffle and set it onto the counter. She had finally done it! Made a perfect souffle. It wasn't burnt or bubbling or sinking over the sides of the pan. Clara stared at the souffle, ecstatic that she had finally made what she considered a perfect souffle. And then the souffle fell in on itself._ Oh. Well at least it's edible._ It was edible, right? Grabbing a spoon, Clara dug into the souffle. She waited a few minutes before she taste tested the souffle. It wouldn't do her any good if she burnt her tongue. Clara closed here eyes as she put the spoon to her mouth. She was greeted by a pleasant surprise. The souffle wasn't just edible, it was delicious. So what if it looked pretty strange? The souffle was delicious._ I've finally done it! I've made mum's souffle! This day couldn't get any better. _And then Clara heard it.

The wonderful sound she had been waiting to hear the last few weeks. The sound of the TARDIS. The large blue box materialized around Clara who was holding the fez in one hand and the souffle in the other. The TARDIS was just as she remembered, despite that fact that she hadn't seen it in a few weeks.

"Clara!'' "Doctor!" Setting the fez and souffle down, Clara embraced The Doctor.

"Oh, I got you some presents.'' Clara said motioning toward the fez and souffle.

"Oh! A Fez!" He exclaimed enthusiastically, perching it on his head. " And a souffle." He said, less enthusiastically.

" Okay, it looks a little strange, but I promise you it's delicious. I tasted it myself." Taking the spoon offered to him by Clara, The Doctor put the spoon in his mouth. "You're right, it's absolutely delicious, Clara.

"So where are we off to then.'' Clara asked, fiddling with the knobs on the console.

"Wherever you like." He replied, lightly swatting her hands away from the knobs.

"Well," Clara started," how about a French cafe for lunch? We've never been to Paris before and I really fancy seeing the Eiffel Tower."

"Okay, a cafe in Paris with a good view of the Eiffel Tower. I know just the place." He said with a grin as he turned and pushed the controls. "You might want to hang on, Clara.'' Clara grabbed onto the console and held on tightly as the TARDIS took off. A few minutes later they landed.

The Doctor and Clara looked at each other, both had an excited look on their face. Slowly The Doctor opened the door. "Well, there you are Clara. Paris, France.'' The two of them stepped out of the TARDIS and onto the pavement.

"So where's this cafe you told me about?'' Clara asked, closing the door.

"A few blocks away, but I wanted to show you something first." The Doctor replied, offering his hand to Clara. She accepted his offer, grabbing his hand and they went running off into the streets of Paris.

There was so much to see Clara wasn't sure where to look. There were bakeries with the smell of freshly baked bread, quaint little shops, and carts full of freshly cut flowers.

"Doctor where are we going?" Clara asked.

"You'll see in a moment, we're almost there." He replied. The Doctor stopped running and placed his hands over Clara's eyes.

"Doctor what are you doing" Clara asked, confused.

''Just turn around and you'll see." The Doctor replied.

Clara turned around and The Doctor removed his hands from her face. Clara's breath was taken away, as she looked up at the sight of the Eiffel Tower. It was amazing and beautiful and it seemed to reach the sky.

"Doctor it's...it's beautiful." she said amazed.

"I'm glad you like it. The cafe is right over there with a full view of the Eiffel Tower" The Doctor gestured toward the cafe.

"We should probably go eat." Clara said.

They walked over to the cafe and sat at a table. "This is nice," Clara said, looking at a menu, "just sitting, about to eat and not running from an alien or saving the world."

"We should do this more often.'' The Doctor said.

"What? Go to Paris?" Clara asked.

"No. Have lunch together. Or breakfast, or dinner. Frankly, either one would work.'' He replied, flustered

"I'd like that." Clara said, leaning forward and kissing him.

"What was that for "The Doctor asked, flustered but secretly pleased.

"Valentines Day."Clara replied with a smile on her face.


End file.
